Attorney General to Deal with Exclusion of Women

Attorney General establishes team that will formulate recommendations regarding the exclusion of women.

Contact Editor

Elad Benari, 30/12/11 03:15

Yehuda Weinstein

Flash 90

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ordered on Thursday the establishment of a Justice Ministry team that will formulate recommendations in the criminal, administrative and legislative level to address the issue of exclusion of women.

Weinstein’s decision was made after consultations he held with attorneys and other legal professionals. The consultations were held following the events in Beit Shemesh, where members of a small group of extremist hareidim have been fighting a religious Zionist girls’ school and have been insulting, cursing and yelling at the students.

A Channel 2 report last week, which showed one member of the group spitting at a seven-year-old girl as she walked to school, led to a protest in Beit Shemesh which served for many as a venue to express their opinion about the divide between secular Israelis and hareidi-religious Jews.

During Thursday’s meeting, Attorney General Weinstein clarified his position that the exclusion of women and physical or verbal violence towards women is an unacceptable phenomenon. He added that the phenomenon has social, cultural, and legal aspects and said the judicial system must fulfill its role with regard to the legal aspects.

Weinstein added, however, that care should be taken not to interfere in the lives of hareidim. He said that he intends to meet in the near future with the relevant law enforcement authorities for further discussions of the situation.